Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book. The idea of killing mr Wickham is so appealing. Based on the title alone I wanted to read this book. I have not read any Jane Austin in many years so some of the character names got jumbled in my head. But, as I got further into the story I could appreciate the references to the past. I think this was a fun concept and I enjoyed imagining what happened to some of these well known characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Frankly, I think this story is masterfully done. As with any ensemble piece, I feel like I don't get quite enough of certain characters. But I do think each set of characters has a complete arc as well as an appropriate role in the murder mystery so I can't complain much. It is written in Agatha Christie-style. That is to say, you bounce around from every character's perspective in rather quick succession. Jonathan and Juliet are not true Austen characters, but they fit into the world quite well. I loved their interactions with the original characters as well as each other. I would be intrigued to see if the author could make this a planned series instead of just a one-off. I think Tilney and Darcy could make a habit of this, and there are a couple more Austen works and other side characters that could be explored.

Some of my personal favorite scenes include appearances by Miss Bates, who though quite absurd, is just a lovely person and I'm happy to see her happy and accepted by the Knightleys. Another, and this is not at all kind of me, is when the Eltons stop by Donwell. Mrs. Elton is just as pompous and annoying as ever, and Mr. Elton is thoroughly put in his place by Mr. Bertram. It is delicious 😂. I also loved that the Bennett Elizabeth is closest to at this point is MARY!!! Mary, who also offers some wonderful marriage advice to Lizzy. There were so many little details to be appreciated, and I'll probably have to read it again to make sure I didn't miss more. But I highly recommend to all Austen lovers.

➸ 3/5 stars
➸ Thank you to the publisher for giving this to me as an ARC via NetGalley.

★ I was excited about this book because I found the concept to be extremely interesting. While I did overall enjoy the book, however, I was extremely underwhelmed and found it to not be living up to the potential of what it could be. The plot pacing of the novel felt a bit off and some of the characters felt a little off in their characterizations. In general, my major criticisms of the novel stem from the fact that I believe it could have done more and while interesting in conception, fell flat in reality.

That's not to say that there wasn't a lot that I enjoyed. In fact, I enjoyed the novel more than not. Overall, it was so fun! Every Jane Austen fan has found themselves longing for the death of Mr. Wickham and Claudia Grey delivers on this front. The collection of Jane Austen characters involved in the book is great to see again and you find yourself easily immersed in the mystery of trying to figure out who killed Mr. Wickham.

Mr Wickham must be one of literatures greatest villains, since I for one was completely sold on this book from its title alone. And to an extent, it lived up to expectation with appearances from many favourite Austen characters across her books, weaving them together cleverly and providing an insight into what had happened since the ending of their stories.

The pacing was a little stilted in part, and some chapters were incredibly slow. However, the characterisation of both new and old characters was a pleasure to read!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This story was an outstanding variation of Austen’s characters. Having read many Pride and Prejudice variations this was a refreshing take, I loved seeing them as parents and the interactions between them and their son was lovely. I really liked Jonathan’s descriptions and personality, really highlight, and humanize autism and neurodivergent thoughts. I am always up for a good mystery and down for the death of Wickham and this was a terrific combination. The twists and turns had me guessing the whole way through the book like a classic Agatha Christie tale and I hope there are more books to come.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the Vintage imprint of Knopf Doubleday Publishing.

This was such a fun book! Years after their stories, the characters of Jane Austen's books gather at a house for some fun, when who should ruin things by kicking the bucket? Ole Georgie Porgie Wickham, that's who!

And being such a terrible person, everybody's a suspect. So instead of shaking the killers hand, the group sets about finding the killer.

There's a few things that diehard Austenites may find anachronistic but I had ball with this one!

Claudia Gray had a great idea when she decided to bring together the various main characters of all Jane Austen’s books. There’s Emma and George Knightley, Elizabeth and Darcy, the Wentworths, the Bertrams, Colonel and Marianne Brandon. She puts the story at the end of the chronology of the stories, so some of the couples have aged a tad. The Knightleys, for example, have now been wed 16 years, the Darcys, 22. She does a nice job of summarizing the backgrounds of the characters, so even non-Austen enthusiasts can enjoy this.
The plot encompasses a Christie style closed room Murder mystery. And the victim? The horrible Mr. Wickham. The joy of Regency stories is the strict code of manners and what is considered “proper”. Gray smartly uses the younger generation to try to discern the difference between manners and morality. She gets the language right, but wasn’t as successful in always keeping the characters true to the age. And one of the supposed motives really rang false. <spoiler> no man would ever have confessed to being in love with another man to his sister, especially in a letter </spoiler>
Gray’s plot gives almost everyone a motive. The two young people, Jonathan and Juliet, are the only two without a motive or opportunity and decide to play detective when the magistrate seems not up to the task of considering the upper classes capable of murder.
Austen, of course, was well known for her humor. Gray has little chance to show any here, but when she does, it rings true to the Austen style. She also throws up multiple red herrings and I will admit to having no clue who was the murderer. I found myself actually worrying that it not be any of the characters I truly loved from their original stories.
I also give credit to Gray for making each of the characters come across as real. All of the married couples have issues that flare up given the stress of the situation. Even the characters I initially found stiff were given a chance to show their humility.
My thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday for an advance copy of this book.

Did you ever think that the Jane Austen universe could be just as interesting as any Marvel movie? Then this book is for you! Main characters from Austen's books come to life a house party held by Emma and her husband. And Mr. Wickham appears. It was interesting to see how characters would interact with each other, and I would love to live in this world more.

A really fun read a cozy mystery with Jane Austin characters entertaining from beginning to end.So well written so involving will be recommending.#netgalley #knopfdoubleday

Take Jane Austen's iconic characters and put them in a mystery worthy of Dame Agatha Christie - I absolutely love what Claudia Gray has done! Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy will always be my favorite literary couple, while Austen and Christie are two of my all time favorite authors so I had to read this book and it has exceeded my expectations!

Meeting all of our favorite couple years after their original stories is many fans greatest desire and biggest fear but Gray does a masterful job, bringing them all together for a house party along with the Darcy's oldest son and the Tilney's daughter. It is only natural that the man that all Austenite's love to hate, Mr. Bingham, is the victim. Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy decide if the truth is going to come out and an innocent man rescued from the noose, it will be up to them. Unfortunately, they discover everyone invited has a reason to want Bickham dead.

The intervening years between Austen's stories and this one have given the author time to weave fascinating histories for each couple that bring them all to a different crisis in their marriages, each one somehow involving the victim. Gray makes it all seem so natural and each issue fitting to what we already know about each relationship and the personalities involved.

Based on the conclusion, it seems as if another book could be in the offering and I so hope their is! Thnak you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of #TheMUrderofMrWickham.

The biggest issue I had with this book was plot pacing - the middle seemed to really drag. That said, this was fun! We get to see all our beloved Austen characters along with the "next gen," and the character work overall along with the setting was very enjoyable. It was also very satisfying seeing Wickham be the victim of the crime given what a POS he is, so... enjoy the schadenfreude there :)

This book was not exactly what I was expecting. It was very difficult for me to get into. DNF. I wish it was for me though! I was very excited about this book.

This book was a delightful cozy mystery set in the world of Jane Austen's books. The characters are mostly taken directly from Austen's books -- including the Darcy's! It was fun to see Elizabeth and Darcy in middle-age with children. The conceit of the book is that characters from different books are gathered together for a house party when someone kills the very deserving Wickham. I enjoyed the book and the resolution of they mysteries.

I absolutely loved the concept of this book; pure genius bringing together a few beloved Austen characters and having them implicated in - and investigating - a murder while they were attending a house party. The writing was very well done and takes place during the regency period - I appreciated that the authenticity of these characters was retained in this story. I found a lot of humour in Mr. Wickhams sudden appearance at the Knightley’s house party - and most especially in each of the characters reactions to him and how they received him. I found some chapters were very exciting and I’d be hooked and unable to put the book down, while others were a bit dry and made me delay in picking up the story again. Personally I felt like the quick succession of introductions of each character and how they knew each other was a lot to take in at the outset - I had to jot them all down to keep it straight - but it got easier to keep their storylines straight as the book went on. Definitely a great book for anyone who is a fan of Austens writing and her characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

Jane Austenites will enjoy this fun piece of fiction, which has several of Austen's characters together for a house party at the Knightley's estate.

At the Knightley's home are Mr. and Mrs. Darcy and their son Jonathan, Colonel and Mrs. Brandon, Captain and Mrs. Wentworth, Mr. and Mrs. Bertram, and Juliet Tilney. They are to spend a few weeks enjoying the Knightley's hospitality and, perhaps, doing a little matchmaking between Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney. But at dinner the first night, an uninvited guest shows up - Mr. Wickham. Each member of the party, other than Juliet, have a reason to hate Mr. Wickham. The weather turns ugly, so Wickham is trapped at the house with them. Two days later, he is found dead in the gallery, and everyone is a suspect, other than Juliet (because she didn't know him) and Jonathan, who was in the stables during the time of death. Juliet and Jonathan decide to investigate the crime, because the magistrate, Frank Churchill, seems to be focusing on the wrong people entirely.

This is a well-written book and anyone who is a huge fan of Jane Austen will love it. I felt like I would have benefited from reading or rereading Austen's works before reading this book, because it would help to understand the characters better. The author tends to assume you know these characters already, which made it tough at times to understand their actions or their character.

The mystery was a good one, and I loved Jonathan Darcy. The younger Darcy is written as someone with autism, which, in truth, explains a lot about the elder Mr. Darcy as well! It fits so well with the original story, and it highlights the positives of autism as well as the negatives, as Jonathan struggles to navigate the social niceties of a house party but excels in solving the mystery with Juliet.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this novel!

This whodunit mystery had me guessing until the end. With a dash of romance, this is a delightful, unmistakable must for any Janeite!

With shifting POVs, I couldn't help but picture the actors/actresses from various adaptations in the roles. The two main protagonists are the next generation, Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy, who team up to identify Wickham's killer. Jonathan is heavily written to be neurodivergent (likely autism, although since there wasn't a name for it then, Gray doesn't give one). I'm sure it's been done, but I feel that it's still somewhat unique to explore neurodivergence within the context of a time period (in)famous for its excessively rigid social structures. I'm glad she utilized a sensitivity reader.

What best stands out to me is how the past trials and tribulations that the characters faced in their respective OG novels are 1) still haunting them and 2) seamlessly repurposed to make reasonable, even likely, murder suspects out of them. The suspense doesn't just come from following clues; these events are shown to have had lasting impacts on each couple, however much they endeavored to move past them. Aside from the natural consequences of commiting murder, all the relationships are at stake in a way that only stress, secrets, and time can effect.

The door is left open for more, so I truly hope there will be a second mystery for Juliet and Jonathan to solve.

THE MURDER OF MR. WICKHAM
by Claudia Gray
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage
Pub Date: May 3

I'm in a decided mood for Jane Austen after watching the 2020 film Emma., and so delighted by all the books coming out that put a twist on some aspect of her work.

THE MURDER OF MR. WICKHAM by Claudia Gray goes one brilliant step further by bringing together all the lead couples from Austen's tales to a house party held by Emma and her husband, Mr. Knightley.

You don't have to be a Janeite to truly enjoy this clever story, because Gray does a fine job of bringing readers up to speed. Fans of both Austen and Agatha Christie will be gripped by the locked-room murder of the odious Wickham, who has wronged everyone at the party and leaves everyone a suspect. And readers will have a delicious time as the mystery unspools, leaving them wanting more tales from Gray. Sequel!

Thanks to the author, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

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#NetGalley #JaneAusteninspiredfiction
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Crime and Jane Austen fans will lap up this country house mystery where all their favorite characters meet. Readers less familiar with Jane Austen might need a little help figuring out who is who but that should not distract too much from the reading experience. Recommend this to everyone who enjoyed P.D. James' "Death comes to Pemberley" or other mysteries set during this time period.

This book is kind of combo of my two favorite authors. Claudia Gray gives us an Agatha Christie kind of locked door mystery featuring some of Jane Austen's most noteworthy characters.

Fans of these two authors will LOVE this book.

When I saw this was a Jane Austen story by Claudia Gray, I jumped at the chance to read it. I’m a Janeite and a big fan of Claudia Grey’s Star Wars books. I wasn’t disappointed.

The book brings together Jane’s beloved characters and some of the next generation for a house party at Donwell Abbey, the Knightley’s estate. Mr. Wickham crashes the party, and in the middle of the night is murdered. I mean, who doesn’t want to throttle Mr. Wickham, right? It turns out he’s been up to no good outside of Pride and Prejudice. But who actually murdered him? Two of their kids decide it’s up to them to figure it out.

Claudia Gray really has the characterizations down. That’s no surprise, as she’s one of the best authors of Star Wars books for that reason. And it turns out that she’s a huge fan of Jane herself. It’s nice that the book starts with a prologue that refreshes your memory about the characters and gets you up to date. It also serves to inform new readers so it’s not required to have read any Jane Austen books to enjoy this one.

Like many Austen fans, I like to think all her characters live in the same world and could end up running into each other. Well, in this book, it turns out that some of them know each other quite well. The relationship between the two kids is sweet, and the whole book was brilliant. I think fans and non-fans alike will enjoy this Regency murder mystery. It comes out May 3. Thank you to Vintage, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and NetGalley for my copy.